A Change Of Plan.

I awoke to a suffocating darkness, my chest heaving as panic surged through me. Memories flooded my mind like an unrelenting tidal wave bent on dragging me to the precipice of despair.

Reset.

The thought of starting all over again,

Ba-dump!

Of reliving every single moment made my blood turn cold.

My hands trembled, dread pooling around my chest like a vice, tightening with each breath.

"Huff-Hakh.-"

I glanced around me, my wary eyes glowing faintly in the darkness, the difficulty in breathing increasing my multiple fold.

"Huff-Hah-."

Ba-dump!

'...The Gods be damned should I reset to where it all began.'

I will literally claw my guts out without a second thought.

Anything was better than that.

The world around me twisted and blurred, chaotic colors slamming into the edges of my consciousness. My vision wavered between a white, hasy shade and an endless dark shade.

Pain rippled through me,

"Ugh."

Until finally, the light receded, leaving only the suffocating darkness.

As clarity descended, I took in my bleak surroundings:

The broken door.

The blood-stained cobblestones beneath me.

The stifling darkness that consumed every breath of mine.

Everything proved one thing:

I was back.

Not at the beginning, but at a checkpoint.

Relief, fragile and fleeting washed over me.

Tears pricked my eyes as the memories of the last cycle clawed their way towards me,

Ba-dump!

"Huff-Hah-."

Slowly clawing at my sanity.

Despair had pushed me to drive the shard of glass through my skull. It had pushed me beyond what I had deemed possible.

The short moments as I drove the shards through my skull had felt like a lifetime.

This made it the twenty-third reset that he had endured.

Twenty-three cycles of pain and despair.

Each one carving deeper scars into my soul, leaving me hollow and soulless. Like a shadow existing without light.

Remembering:

The broken glass. The metallic taste of blood. The searing pain as I had driven the shard into my skull- each detail was etched into the depths of my mind, haunting me.

I really don't want to go through it again.

I really don't want to...

Tears came freely now, as it streaked down the corner of my eyes, leaving a hot trail down its track.

I felt empty,

Shattered.

My heart had splintered into fragments, scattered pieces of desolation.

But, despair wouldn't save me.

It never will.

Forcing down the gnawing emptiness clawing at my chest. I exhaled sharply and pushed myself to my feet.

I knew the Amaraith would soon begin its hunt. And time was running out.

With trembling resolve, I plunged into the darkness. My heart thundered against my ribs,

Ba-dump!

Ba-dump!

Each breath felt like a struggle against suffocation.

Tok-

I navigates the alleys with precision, every turn etched into my memory from countless failed escapes. The twenty three resets- had taught me well. I knew the paths to avoid, the zones to steer clear of.

Ahead,

Ba-dump!

Nightmarish sentinels loomed in the distance- trees with roots thicker than cobblestones and branches clawing at the sky. I veeres sharply, muscles screaming in protest as I adjusted my course.

Tok-

I couldn't afford even a moment of hesitation.

Tok-

My lungs burned, a cruel mixture of ice and fire, but I pressed on. Fear gnawed at my resolve but the thought of being caught by the Amaraith spurred me forward.

Tok-

Each step felt heavier than the last, but I refused to stop.

Then I saw it- a monstrous silhouette shifting in the distance.

My heart clenched tightly,

Ba-dump!

It thumped faster.

The air thick with dread.

But instinct took over, and I dove to the right, rolling behind a crumbling wall. My chest heaved as I pressed my back against the cold stone, the faint vibrations of the creature's step growing closer.

Tok-

Tok-

Terror coiled around me, dread pooling around my chest like ice.

Tok-

It inched closer.

Tok-

The change in the atmosphere.

Tok-

I could feel them all with abysmal clarity.

My eyes darted to my left, eyes piercing through the darkness.

Hesitation settled within me, but I knew I had no choice. I could only hope for a branched route that would get me back on the right track.

Tok-

My chest heaved up and down, the stifling silence growing in intensity.

Tok-

Gritting my teeth,

Ba-dump !

My heartbeat started to accelerate.

Ba-dump!

I struggled to go on with my decision.

And with each breath I took,

"Huff-Huff."

Every step the malevolent creature took towards my hidden position.

Tok-

The more desperate I became.

Despair and desperation slowly tightened around my chest like a vice.

And then-,

Fuck it all!

I yelled inwardly.

And with a sudden burst of adrenaline. I pushed off, sprinting for the nearest room.

The noice I created seem to have alarmed the creature who bolted towards my hidden position.

It seemed to sense something in the air.

The fear and dread.

They were perceptible.

Eeriely perceptible

Not only was it just feeling them. It also knew where they were coming from.

Bang!

It bolted into the room, and instead of making use of the broken window just as I had.

It instead, broke open the door.

Crash!

But by the time it did that, I already had a change of plan.

A sudden burst of instinct and then, I pushed off, sprinting for the nearest window.

Katcha!

Glass shattered around me as I crashed through, rolling onto the cobblestones at a violent pace.

Crash!

Bang!

And then,

Pain!!!

Terrible pain shot through me, but I gritted my teeth and shoved it down.

Now was not the time.

I scrambled upright, lungs burning, eyes darting to my surroundings.

Ba-dump!

My chest heaved up and down.

Ba-dump!

My heartbeat accelerated.

And then...,

Tok-

Tok-

I started running once again.

By the time the supernatural creature managed to break open the fragile door and then the next.

Boom!

I had already bursted into another alleyway.

That was a close call.

I heaved a sigh of relief.

Now on the right track. I knew for ten meters ahead, it was an absolute safe zone and I intend to make the best use of it.

And so I ran. I ran like there was no tomorrow.

I didn't pause not even for a second.

I couldn't pause.

The fear of being caught- or wrose, having to end it and start all over again - spurred me to run faster, every single muscle within my feeble body strained to its breaking point.

Because I knew there might not be a tomorrow if I managed to get caught by the Amaraith. It pushed me to run even faster.

To the point of moving beyond what my body could withstand.

Yet...,

I wasn't satisfied.

I wanted more.

More speed!

'...fucking move faster!'

I yelled inwardly, veins writhing across my fragile body.

As I ran,

Tok-

I gasped for breath.

"Huff-Hah."

My heartbeat accelerated,

Ba-dump!

Ba-dump!

Akin to a defeaning thunderclap.

My eyes at this point had grown extremely blurry.

Biting on my lower lips, I allowed myself to regain control of my body, before forcing myself to continue running.

Tok-

I never looked back.

Tok-

I couldn't look back.

I just kept running and running, and despite the tremendous strain that echoed through every fiber of my being.

Tok-

I kept going.

I kept running with everything I had got. Pushing myself beyond my limits as I approached the end of the ten meters safe zone.